This week’s meals

My blog has been boring me to tears lately, so tonight I’ll just post this week’s dinners. I generally use a piece of scrap paper and magnet it to the fridge, so this will be super formal for me. Also, if the kids are with us I make them something else, like chicken or mac and cheese or soup. I’m not going to make them eat what I like, but I’m sure not eating what they like either! Ususally Willow and Sophie will eat what I make for the grown ups.

Mondaypasta with greens and ricotta(Moosewood Cooks at Home)
While cooking a pound of whatever pasta you prefer (we used bow-tie), sautee a couple of smashed cloves of garlic in a tablespoon of olive oil. Add about six cups of chard (or whatever greens you like) and a cup of watercress. You want to rinse and chop the greens and leave a little water on the leaves. Cook until wilted but still bright green. Take off the heat and add a little salt and pepper and a quarter teaspoon of nutmeg. Add 3/4 cup of ricotta cheese (or perhaps silken tofu if you’re better at being vegan than I) and process in blender or food processor until smooth. Mix with the drained pasta and top with toasted walnuts (yummy!) or pine nuts or tomatoes or whatever grabs ya.

Tuesdaygingered greens with tofu coconut rice (Moosewood Cooks at Home)
I do the rice first. Boil 1 and 1/4 cup water in a saucepan with a tightly fitting lid. Add one cup of basmati rice, 1/2 cup coconut milk, 1/2 teaspoon turmeric, 1/4 teasp salt, 1 cinnamon stick, 1/4 cup rasins or currants (I use golden rasins) and 1 dried chile if you want. Stir. Return to boil. Cover, reduce heat to low and come back in fifteen minutes to take out the cinnamon and chile and be happy. Don’t forget to fluff before serving.

This part sounds hard with all the ingredients, but it’s easy.
Mix 1/2 cup each of soy sauce and dry sherry, 1/4 rice wine vinegar and 3 tablespoons of brown sugar. Bring to a boil, simmer for a minute and remove from heat. Cut 2 cakes of tofu (about 1 and 1/2 lbs) into 1/2 inch slices, then into 1 inch squares. Put the squares in a “nonreactive heatproof pan.” (Uhh, I used some pyrex casserole dishes. They didn’t react at all.) Pour the marinade over the tofu, then sprinkle on 2 tablespoons of peanut or veg oil, and set aside for 5 minutes.

Broil the tofu for 7 or 8 minutes, until lightly browned, then turn over with spatula (I did such a half assed job here, these are little squares, and it was fine) and brown the other side.

While the tofu broils, heat the oil in a wok or big big skillet. Add the ginger. Add the greens (I used a bunch of greens and added a little at a time). You are stir frying, so stir, on high heat, till the greens wilt. Add the lime juice, cilantro and hot stuff and remove from heat. When the tofu is done, toss it with the greens and make sure to add all the tasty marniade.

Wednesday Fettucini cacciatore (Vegan Planet)
Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large skillet over med heat. Add 8 ounces of tempeh, cut into 1 inch pieces. Cook about 5 minutes, till browned on all sides. Remove from skillet and set aside.

Deglaze the pan with 1/2 cup dry white wine, stirring to scrape up the yummy browned bits of tempeh from the bottom of the pan. Reduce the wine by one half and set aside.